If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us do we not revenge? If we are like you in the rest we will resemble you in that WS

Sweet Jesus. No man should look that good.

Last night when she'd bid goodbye to Alex and closed the door behind her Cat had felt her heart threatening to explode out of her chest. She'd wrapped her arms around herself and breathed heavily against the door. Cat remembered the glazed look in his eyes when she'd leaned in and intentionally promised him more with just a glance. But instead had whispered goodbye and planted a tracking bug on his coat. She felt as if she'd gotten him back for how he'd behaved all night.

Liar.

I wanted more.

Always more.

Always with him.

She couldn't believe how intensely she'd reacted to a few of his casual touches. When Alex's hands had brushed her nape and wrists, she'd actually trembled with burgeoning need. Cat had been just as affected and completely seduced by the man as she had been with the boy. She'd felt Alex's hot, hard erection brush against her belly and it had been unbelievably difficult to pull away from him. Even as she'd stood on her toes, Cat had realized the danger she was in.

I'm in deep trouble.

Feeling trapped again…completely under his spell. Just a tilt of Alex's head and she would have been kissing him. She'd decided then and there that she would avoid him as much as possible and remain composed at all times. Or she had the distinct feeling that she wouldn't come out of this as intact as she'd been going in. She'd planted a virus on his phone last night when his attention had been diverted on Jeremy. It had helped her hack into his phone which had given her nothing so far. She would have to look for other evidence proving Alex's guilt.

Or innocence.

Trying to appear cool and collected, she was dressed in a white shirt with a ruffled collar and a tight knee-length black skirt that showed off her long legs to great advantage. Thin gold chains around her neck completed the sophisticated aura she was trying to project.

But she hadn't expected her firm stance would come under attack so soon. She'd gotten to the office that morning to find out that Alex had called her in. She couldn't help but stare at Alex standing behind his desk in a custom-made classic-cut gray suit, black dress shirt adorned with a passion-red tie. His broad shoulders and lean physique were only emphasized by the classic design that threatened her knees to buckle with longing.

Gleaming jade eyes turned to look at her and she felt her stomach hollow out as the feeling that all was not going to go as planned, set in.

"Ah Catrina, I'm glad you're finally here. We have a board meeting scheduled in a little over an hour that I'd like you to attend. Claire will show you to your workplace and in the meantime, I'm sure you can find something to…do."

He gave her a diabolical smile and pocketed his Blackberry. With a quick flick of his wrist snapping his gray suit jacket closed, he left without even so much as a goodbye.

Don't let him get to you. If he could act as if nothing happened last night, so could I.

She repeated the mantra as her eyes were drawn again to the moving chaos depicted in the expressionist painting hanging on the wall. It soothed her turmoil and she was able to lock her feelings deep inside. Knowing she had no time to waste now as she had a little breather from Alex's… all-consuming personality, Cat intended to investigate what she'd really come here for.

Seeing as how the coast was clear and she wanted to spend as little time as possible with Alex, she quickly went over to his PC. She woke up the system which asked for a password and quickly inserted a pen drive. The inbuilt program allowed her to hack into the system's files and bypass all its security codes. Within minutes she had transferred all the files and was just pocketing the drive from the other side of the desk when Cat heard the door open.

Claire poked her head in and said in a completely offhand tone, "I see you're making yourself comfortable, but Mr. Knight asked me to escort you to your office."

"Thank you Claire for all your assistance. If you'll show me where I'm to work…"

"Of course. Your office is right at the end of this hall next to the private entrance on this floor. The extension lines and numbers for the staff, plus the basic information for current projects and last year's annual report are kept on your desk. Also, if you need anything, just dial my extension and I'll help you out."

"That's great Claire. Thanks."

She smiled back reluctantly, "It's my job and Mr. Knight instructed me on what to do. So it's no problem at all."

Cat opened the door to a beautifully decorated and glass-walled office. It was comparatively smaller than Alex's office but still big enough to accommodate a five-star suite. Done up in classic tones and contrasts of beige and cream, it exuded class and elegance. A burnished desk was placed at one corner while exotic landscapes of faraway places graced the walls. A twin to the fountain in Alex's office stood sentry at one end while a comfortable L-shaped red reclining sofa set was laid out at the other end.

A distracting view of the city's garden and rumbling traffic made for a magnificent vista.

She wondered if she'd get any actual work done here if she had to work facing the city's glorious view spread beneath her every day. Again, she felt the flash of memory that had slipped her yesterday when she'd entered Alex's office.

Shared dreams and wishes whispered in the quiet of the night.

The ideal house and workplace they were going to design.

While lying together that last ni-She ruthlessly banished those sentimental thoughts.

Deciding to face her chair away from the fabulous view, she called Claire to ask for all the past five years' financial records of the company to be delivered to her by the end of the day. Cat got down to work on the system files she had been mailed. Forgetting the time, she ran down her checks and entries when the phone's ring bought her out of the work trance.

"Where are you, Catrina? You were supposed to be at the board meeting fifteen minutes ago," Alex demanded.